Locomotive driving box



June 18, 1929. MUCHNK; 1,717,618

LOCOMOTIVE DRIVING BOX Filed Oct. 18, 1926 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Patented June 18, 1929.

UNITED STATES 1,717,618 PATENT OFFICE.

HENRY E. MUCHNIC, OF ATCHISON, KANSAS, ASSIGNOR TO THE LOCOMOTIVE FINISHED MATERIAL COMPANY, OF ATCHISON, KANSAS, A. CORPORATION OF KANSAS.

LOCOMOTIVE DRIVING BOX.

Application filed October 18, 1926. Serial No. 142,197.

This application is a continuation in part of my application Serial No. 128,223.

This invention relates broadly to bearings and more particularly to that type of bearing commonly employed in locomotives an termed a driving journal box, this invention specifically relating to an improved structure of the bearing and supporting means which includes improved lubricating means.

It will be understood by those skilled in the art that in a steam locomotive the driving wheel axles are supported for I'OtatlOII III parallel frames provided with recesses which receive the driving box in which the journal bearing, that is, the brass, is secured, by pressing. Many attempts have been made to reduce and eliminate the distortion of the brass due to pounding, it being common practice to provide a bearing brass which overlies the axle and which receives substantially all of the pressure of the locomotlve frames on the axles and these bearing brasses have in most instances and in practically all railway practice today been made substantially semi-circular, that is, only the upper part of the bearing actually is a hearing. In this type of driving box, the brass, owlng to the longitudinal thrust, tends, to become pounded out of shape.

In order to overcome the disadvantages of the present driving box I have provided a device hereinafter described, and its principal objects and advantages reside in the provision shown of an improved type of driving box including the bearing itself and associated elements the provision of an improved driving box characterized by the embodiment therein of a substantially continuous hearing, that is, a bearing brass which completely encircles the axle; the provision of an improved driving box bearing in which the bearing member is floating; that is, revoluble in the box both relatively to and with the axle or shaft; the provision of an improved bearing in which both the sides, top, and bottom of the bearing function to eliminate the pounding and consequent distortion of the bearing in service; the pIOVlSlOH of an improved driving box of the character described in which a revoluble bushing (brass) is employed to eliminate concentrated wear, that is, the concentration of the wear of the bearing in one spot, the provision of an improved bearing having automatic lubricating means; and the provision of a bearing of the character described which is substantially continuous and whereby strains are thereby distributed throughout the bearing member and the life of the bearing therefore increased.

In the prior art devices known to me, when repairing a locomotive driving box, that is, renewing the brass, it is necessary that the wheels and axle be dropped either into a pit or the whole locomotive hoisted 011' the wheels in order that the driving box may be removed from the frame for receivin the new brass. In the present invention, provide an arrangement whereby renewal of the brasses may be simply accomplished by 'acking up the box against the tension 0 the springs, blocking the springs and allowing the box to be freely moved above the axle so as to remove the worn brasses and replace the same with new brasses, this feature being set forth hereinafter in detail.

The foregoing and such other objects and advantages as may appear or be pointed out as this description proceeds are attained in the structure illustrated in the accompanying drawings, in which:

Figure 1 is a partial elevational and vertical sectional'view of the device of this invention;

Figure 2 is a top plan; and

Figure 3 is a vertical sectional View taken on line 3-3 of Figure 1 looking in the direction indicated by the arrows.

Referring now more particularly to the drawing, I provide a box member, generall designated 5, this box member being genera ly rectangular in contour and provided at its lateral edges with vertical channels 6--6 which aflord flanges between which the vertical lugs of the locomotive frame are received whereby the box may vertically move against the usual spring elements. The box is made in two sections, the upper section 6 and the lower section 6*. The upper portion 6 of the driving box 5 is provided with channels 7 in which the usual spring yoke, not shown, may be received.

The box 5'is provided at its medial portion with a bore to receive an axle 8, said bore being formed by a transverse semi-cylindrical recess 9 in the upper portion 6 and forming a surface having the center 10 of the driving axle 8 as its center of curvature. The surface 9 is substantiall semi-cylindrical and terminates at or ad acent the points 12--12, the end portions of the box 5 being there formed with vertical side walls 13 and 14, which latter at their inner portions form recesses 15 and 16.

The upper and lower sections of the box are substantially alike as to major portions, that is the curved surface 9 is duplicated at 9 in the section 6, and the two sections are held together by bolts'17, 17 passing through complemental apertured lugs 18, 18 formed on the respective sections. Shims 19, 19, are placed between the sections so that wearing of the bearing may be compensated for. Upstanding lugs 20 and 21 lie in the recesses 15 and 16 and prevent relative lateral displacement of the sections 6" and 6.

The upper and lower parts of the box are provided with cellar members generally designated 22, 23, which, as will hereinafter appear, serve to form, with certain other elements, the upper and lower retaining portions of the box 5. The cellar member 2 is provided with a curved wall 25 described about the same center as that of the wall 24 on which the surface 9 is afforded. In the case of the part 23, this is shaped to receive the key member 26 which serves a purpose which will hereinafter appear. An inspection of Figure 3 will show the key 26 as disposed approximately midway the length of the bearing. v

The bearing proper of the present invention preferably includes the bearingmember 36 which latter is. as shown in Figure 1, made up of a plurality of sections forming a substantially complete annulus, the bearing member being termed a brass because it is usually made of brass and is divided, as indicated at 37, 37 into three sections, the joints being substantially 120 apart. Any number of sections desired may be employed but I have found that this construction facilitates renewal of the bearing member and at the same time does not rovide an undesirable number of joints. Tfie bearing member, though removable, of course snugly engages the axle 11 and said bearing member is freely revoluble both with and relatively to the axle.

In the construction of the sections of the brass 36 I find it desirable to first employ an annulus of brass and to turn the same on its inside diameter accurately to snugly fit the locomotive axle or shaft as the case may be. I then saw the annulus into three sections by making saw cuts appertured 120 apart and allowing thereby a clearance between the adjacent ends of the sections so that no distortion or binding,

can take place due to expansion when heated. By forming the bearing member 36 accurately to fit the axle at the out-- side, it is not necessary for the bearing member to become wornin service but the sections thereof fit the axle.

A steel liner in the form of a cylindrical sectionalized member 38 substantially comv the channels and facilitates assembly of the bearing by re tainin g the upper part of the liner in desired position while the lower part thereof and the other parts of the bearing are applied.

The liner 38 in its upper portion is provided with a plurality of openings 40, 40 which communicate with channels 41, 41 extending from passageways 42, 42, said passageways being formed in the body of the yoke 5 and communicating with supply cellar 22. From an inspection of Figure 2 it will be seen that 41 extendsubstantially entirely across the top of the bearing and may communicate, by a plurality of-the openings 41 and 40, with the bearing member 36. Suitable absorbent material 36" prevents too rapid a flow of the lubricant.

The lubricant pocket 23 communicates with the bearing 36 by virtue of slots 45 and 46 formed in the wall 25 and liner 38 respectively and by means of openings 47. A suitable wick 48 extends from the cellar 23 to the bearing surface and has one end lying in said slots 45 and 46.

Again reverting to the bushing or brass 36, it will be observed that the latter between its joints 37 is formed with a plurality of complemental ports 37 which form passageways for the lubricant introduced between the liner and the bushing to pass to the surface of the axle 8, I also find it convenient and desirable to internally groove the surfaces ofthe sections of the bushing as indicated at 55 for hastening the distribution of the lubricant throughout the bearing surface. As will be observed from an inspection of the drawings, the openings or ports 37 are provided with enlarged outer portions or mouths 37" so that the lubricant finds easy access to these ports from the passageways 40 and 41.

At one end of the bearing adjacent to thehub of the driving wheel, a revoluble end thrust plate 61 is provided let into an annular recess 62 in the box 5. rA flange 63 at the other end of the box prevents displacement of the bearing member in that direction.

It will be observed that the advantages accruing to this invention reside particularly in the absence of any pound on the bearing due to uneven supporting of the axle and any displacement of the axle in the bearing lon tudinally of the locomotive being taken up y some part of the bushing member which is-, of course, constantly changing.

In assembling the device of this invention, the manner of assembly depends, of course, on whether this is being done originally when the device is placed'on the axles or whether it is done to an engine for repair purposes. As one of the principal advantages of this inventhe locomotive frame.

tion resides in the facility with which repairs can be made, it will be pointed out that assuming the device is in position on a locomotive, as shown, bolts 17 are first removed and the member 6 allowed to drop down. The driving box is then jacked up against the tension of the locomotive springs, not shown, and a block may then be placed between the springs and the top of the locomotive frame, thereby taking the weight of that part of the engine off the driving box whereupon it is freely movable relatively to the axle and to The bushings and liners, if necessary, may then be slid out along the axle. New bushings and liners are then inserted in position, and the cellar member raised, and the bolts 34 inserted and tightened. The key 25 is, of course, placed in its proper position to retain the liners against rotation. The springs will then again be jacked up and the retaining block removed, allowing the spring yoke to again engage the upper part of the driving box, and the engine is again ready for service. It will be obvious that the advantages are in this structure over the prior art device wherein it is necessary to drop driving wheels into a pit in order to remove the journal box for replacing the brass. It will be understood, of course, that'the liner 38 is not absolutely essential but it is employed to eliminate wear on the driving box itself. In some installations it may be desirable to eliminate the liner and permit the bushing to rotate against the grooved surface of the ox and cellar member 23.

Having thus described my invention and illustrated its use, what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

1. A journal box including a sectional main casing s lit along the center of the casing and hel together by retaining members, a split bushing mounted in the casing, means to hold the bushing from movement in one direction in the casing, and an external thrust plate rotatable on and retained by the sections of said main casing.

2. A journal box including a sectional main casin split along the center of the easing and hefd together by retaining members, a s lit bushing mounted in the casing, means to liold the bushing from movement in one direction in the casing, and an external thrust plate rotatable on and retained by the sections of said main casing, said thrust plate having its inner edge lying in a plane to prevent mlovement of said bushing toward said thrust ate.

p 3. A journal box including a sectional main casing split along the center of the casing and held together by retaining members, a split bushing mounted in the casing, means to hold the bushing from movement in one direction in the casing, and an external thrust plate rotatable on and retained by the sections of said main casing, and said casing sections having complemental recesses in an end face tlliereof for retaining said external thrust p ate.

4. A journal box including a sectional main casing split along the center of the casing and held together by retaining members, a split bushing mounted in the casing, a fixed liner in said casing, means to hold the bushing and liner from movement in one direction in the casing, and an external thrust plate rotatable on and retained by the sections of said main casing.

5. A journal box including a sectional main casing split along the center of the casing and held together by retaining members, a split bushing mounted in the casing, a fixed liner in said casing, means to hold the bushing and liner from movement in one direction in the casing, and an external thrust plate rotatable on and retained by the sections of said main casing, said thrust plate being arranged to retain said bushing and -l1ner agalnst movement in a direction toward said plate.

6. A journal box including a sectional main casing split along the center of the casing and held together by retaining members, a split bushing mounted in the casing, means to hold the bushing from movement in one direction in the casing, and an external sectionalized thrust late rotatable on and retained by the sections of said main casing.

7. In a bearing, a box or housing, a revoluble bearing member in said box, and a revoluble face bearing at one end of and carried by said box serving to retain said bearing member.

8. In a bearing, a supporting body having two separable parts formed with complemental supporting surfaces, a liner retained in said body and engaging said surfaces, means for holding said liner in position, said means being retained by engagement with the separable parts of said body, a sectionalized bearing member within said liner and a member revoluble on said separable parts for preventing eiidwise movement of the liner and said bearing member.

In testimony whereof, I have hereunto signed my name.

HENRY E. MUCHNIC. 

